STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Sam Corigliano was ready to close the doors on a 33-year-old Great Kills waterfront restaurant after flood waters from Hurricane Sandy inundated the Marina Cafe on Oct. 29, 2012.

"I thought to myself, 'Should I go forward?' Before the storm, I was planning to retire and turn over the business to my daughter and son-in-law, Rosemarie and Joseph Saladino," said Corigliano, who opened the waterfront restaurant in July 1980 with a former partner, with Joseph D'Alessio.

The Marina Cafe -- a waterfront staple known for its seafood and Italian-Mediterranean cuisine, as well as its family dining atmosphere -- was filled with seven feet of water from the storm. Sandy's wrath also blew out the restaurant's wall of windows, which allowed diners a picturesque view of the water, and totally destroyed its outdoor dining and bar areas.

"A wave crushed in all the windows, and boats must of hit them ...The outdoor tiki bar was completely washed away," said Corigliano.

In the aftermath of the storm, Corigliano and his family started to clean out debris from the restaurant. "It was dumpster after dumpster that we filled up," he said.

After the storm hit, D'Alessio, also owner of the Marina Grand, and Corigliano parted as long-time business partners. And Corigliano said he seriously contemplated closing down the Marina Cafe. That's when his grandson coaxed this long-time restauranteur to revive his heavily-patronized restaurant.

"My grandson, Joseph Saladino, said to me, 'You can't walk away. He and his friends were here everyday helping clean up after the storm,'" said Corigliano. "If it wasn't for his encouragement, I would have walked away."

By May, Corigliano had repaired the outdoor portion of the restaurant and was able to offer limited dining services.

"We opened Memorial Day weekend. We did a lot of work to the outside; we rebuilt the tiki bar and put in new bathrooms. All the decking had to be repaired. Over the summer we worked out of a kitchen trailer truck; we prepared as much (menu items) as we could," said Corigliano.

The interior portion of the restaurant officially reopened on Wednesday at a "grand reopening" event at the popular eatery.

Corigliano noted that it took over a year to restore the restaurant -- seating 155 patrons for dinner -- and its magnificent waterfront views that many loyal patrons have grown accustomed to over the last three decades.

"It's hard to reopen a restaurant that has a 34-year history. We were very cautious to make sure we got everything right because we want to give customers the same experience they have always had at the Marina Cafe," he said.

"You can't make your money back overnight. You have to take it slow and do things right," he added.

For this reason, he restored the waterfront ambiance and added an upscale artistic flair to the decor.

"Patrons say they feel like they're in Manhattan," he said.

Though many patrons come to enjoy the oceanfront scenery and food, Corigliano attributed much of the Marina Cafe's success over the years to his employees.

"This isn't just a building. It's the people who work here that make it what it is," he said.